Australian Demographics
o Population: 20,600,856
o Most people are 15-64 years old
o Life expectancy: Male: 78 years old
Female: 83 years old
o Ethnic Groups: White 92%, Asian 7%,
Aboriginal and other 1%
o Religions: Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%,
Other Christians 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%,
Muslim 1.5%
o Language: English 79.1%
o Literacy Rate: 99%
o Government Type: Federal
parliamentary democracy
o Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
History
o 68,000 BC – 40,000 BC ~ Aboriginal tribes
arrive
o 1606 ~ Dutch spot Australian mainland
o 1770 ~ English Lieutenant James Cook explores
Eastern coast and claims it for Britain
o 1778 ~ First fleet from England arrives and
founded first European settlement and
colony at Sydney
o 1808 ~ The Rum Rebellion
o 1829 ~ The whole of Australia is claimed as
British territory
o 1891 ~ First attempt at Federal Constitution
is drafted
o 1891 ~ Severe depression
o 1898 ~ The convention agrees on a final draft
o 1901 ~ Australia becomes a Federation
History – cont.
o 1902 ~ Franchise Act guarantees women the
right to vote
o 1903 ~ High Court of Australia is established
o 1914 ~ Takes part in WWI
o 1939 ~ Australia enters WWII
o 1950 ~ Korean War
o 1963 ~ Indigenous Australians are given full
rights as citizens
o 1972 ~ The first Labor Government is elected
since 1942 under the leadership of
Gough Whitlam
o 1987 ~ Hoddle Street Massacre and Queen
Street Massacre
o 1999 ~ A referendum to changing to a
Republic is unsuccessful
o 2007 ~ Labor Party elected – Kevin Rudd is
PM
Aborigines
o Aborigine: People who were here from the
beginning
o Account for 2% of Australia’s population
o Migrated from somewhere in Asia around 30,000
years ago
o Believe in a close relationship between humans
and land
o By the late 1880’s most Aborigines had joined the
white, rural and urban communities
o Land and property rights fueled an important
civil rights movement in the 1970’s
o Aborigines spoke out for land rights that had
been taken by British settlers
Executive Branch
o Chief of State: Queen of Australia Elizabeth II
who is represented by Governor General Major
General Michael Jeffery
o Head of Government: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
o Deputy Prime Minister: Julia Gillard
o Cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among
members of Parliament, candidates who are
subsequently sworn in by the government general
to serve as government ministers
o Elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor
general appointed by the monarch on the
recommendation of the prime minister; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority
party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn
in as prime minister by the governor general
Prime Minister – Kevin Rudd
o Most powerful political office in Australia
o Always the leader of the political with the
majority in the House
o Kevin Rudd is the leader of the Labor Party
o Knocked out John Howard (PM 1996-2007)
o The Prime Minister is appointed by the
Governor General
o Has a Cabinet and a Federal Executive
Council
o Can be voted out by a vote of no confidence
The Governor General
o The representative in Australia of the
British monarch
o Currently Michael Jeffery representing
Queen Elizabeth II
o Exercises supreme executive power
o Appoints ministers, ambassadors and
judges
o Gives royal assent to legislation
o President of the Federal Executive Council
o Acts only on the advice of the Prime
Minister of Australia
o Mostly a ceremonial role
Preferential Voting
o Voters rank a list or group of candidates in
order of preference
o Voter writes #1 by first choice, #2 by second,
etc.
o Used in instant run-off voting and single
transferable vote system
Legislative Branch
o Bicameral Federal Parliament
o Consists of the Senate and House of Representatives
o Most Recent Election Results:
o Senate
Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37
Australian Labor Party, 32
Australian Greens, 5
Family First Party, 1
Other, 1
o House of Reps
Australian Labor Party, 83
Liberal Party, 55
National Party, 10
Independents, 2
Parliament – House of Reps.
o House of Rep (150)
o 3 year term
o Represent a separate electoral
division – instant run-off voting
o The party with majority support
in the House forms the government
o Members may have other functions
in the Parliament
o Have a Question Time
o They are involved in law making,
committee work and in
representing their electors
Parliament - Senate
o Senate (76)
o 12 elected for each State and 2 for
each territory
o State senators 6 year term and
Territory senators 3 year term
o Proportional representation – single
transferable vote
o In order for a bill to become a law,
must agree with House
o Highly developed committee system
o Senators spend much time on
committee work
Parties of Australia
o Australian Labor Party
o
o
o
o
o
Liberal Party
The Nationals
Australian Democrats
Australian Greens
One Nation
Australian Labor Party
o Oldest political party – formed
in 1890
o Continuously represented in the
House since 1901
o Experienced 3 splits and in
turn lost seats in the
Parliament
o A lot of government spending
for businesses
o Pro Union
Liberal Party of Australia
o Formed in 1910
o Liberal party has governed in coalition with
the National Party for 36 of the last 52
years
o Economy is based on private economy, free
enterprise and competitive markets
o Government should not provide services that
can be better delivered by competitive
enterprise
o Limited government
o Similar to American Republican Party
The Nationals
o Originally known as the Country
Party
o Has held seats in Parliament since
1919
o Rural-based party
o Believe in security for the nation
o Want strong economy built on
private industry
o Seek better health care
o Support Australian farming
Australian Democrats
o Formed in 1977 by Don Chipp
o Most successful minor political
party
o Have elected 5 different women as
leaders
o Want uniform healthcare system
o In favor of tax increase
o Expenses paid education
o Very concerned about the
environment
Australian Greens
o The newest party, launched in 1992
o Started because of environmental conflict
in the 1980’s
o Big emphasis on environment
o Health care and human rights platforms are
abundant
o Emphasis on farming and agricultural
development
One Nation
o Representing the people of
Australia who are concerned
that their will is being ignored
by the two-party system
o Global warming is not an issue
o Focus on foreign affairs
Judicial Branch
o
o
Highest court is the Australian High Court
Chief Justice and 6 other Justices are
appointed by the Governor General
Common Law system
There are 3 other Federal courts:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
The Federal Court of Australia
The Family Court of Australia
The Federal Magistrates Court
The High Court has judicial review and
interprets the Constitution of Australia
All Federal judges and magistrates can serve
until they are 70 years old
The High Court was constituted by the
Judiciary Act of 1903
The Bureaucracy
o Not the strongest part of the government in
Australia
o Many civil service offices are present but
they aren’t very well represented
o The Australians don’t seem to like the
bureaucracy very much
Economy of Australia
o GDP is on par with the four dominant
Western European economies
o Extremely strong currency
o Agricultural products are main exports
o Budget has been in surplus since 2002 due to
strong revenue growth
o Unemployment rate 4.4%
o Main industries are mining, industrial and
transportation equipment, and food
processing
o Currency is the called the Australian Dollar
Political Culture
o British influence is extremely important
o Voter turn out is high due to fining if one does
not participate in voting
o Women received the right to vote in the nations
history
o Decline of cleavages
o The biggest cleavages are class and gender
o Australians do believe that women should have
equal rights
o Most Australians support their government and
what it does
o The Question Time for the government helps to
improve legitimacy and trust from the people
Foreign Policy
o Large supporters of the U.S.
o Close ties with Britain
o Tend to take the side of Britain during
wartime
o Main goal is to start new relationships
with other countries and develop coalitions
of mutual interests
o Looking to form free trade agreements
with Singapore, Thailand, and the U.S.
o The ANZUS Treaty says that Australia and
the U.S. are allies during wartime
o Working to expand security
o Many goals for the South-Pacific region
Australian Capital Territory
o It is the capital territory of the
Commonwealth of Australia
o It’s the smallest self-governing internal
territory
o It is an inland enclave in New South Wales
o Conceived during the federation conventions
of the late 1800s
o Following the Federation of 1901, land would
be given to the new Federal Government
o The capital is Canberra, since 1913
Electoral Map of New South Wales & the ACT
Liberal Party (LP)
Australian Labor Party (ALP)
National Party (NP)
Independent (IND)
Northern Territory Country Liberal Party (CLP)
Australian Defence Force
o Established in 1976
o Consists of the Royal Australian Navy,
Australian Army, and the Royal Australian
Air Force
o Relatively small but it’s the largest
military in Oceania
o Their priority is to maintain the capability
to defend Australian territory
o Working with other countries on peace
keeping operations
o Contribute to international coalitions of
forces outside of Australia’s immediate
region